Pneumatic cleaners for textile apparatus typically have a movable carriage which is adapted to traverse the length of the textile machinery. The carriage has compressed air outlets and vacuum nozzles to clean the parts of the textile apparatus which are likely to become fouled with lint and other foreign matter. The compressed air and vacuum are supplied from a fan blower on the carriage, which is powered and controlled through conduits housed in a power chain having one end connected to a source positioned centrally along the length of the apparatus and the other end connected to the carriage. The power chain comprises hollow links which are interconnected for unidirectional pivotal movement so that it may be extended in a generally flat condition away from the power source and is free to bend back upon itself for connection to the carriage. Chains of this type are well known and are described, for example, in European Patent No. 0021153. The chain is supported in the textile apparatus on both sides of the supply source along the entire length of the apparatus. On one side of the supply source, the double-chain side, the chain is extended and bent back on itself such that one section of the chain is resting on another section of chain. The movable end of the chain is drawn over the upper surface of the lower section of the chain as the carriage moves between the supply source and the double-chain end of the apparatus.
On the other side of the supply source, the single-chain side, the movable end of the chain is drawn over the bottom surface of the support structure as the carriage moves between the supply source and the single-chain end of the apparatus. In this manner, the carriage can reciprocate along a path approximately twice as long as the chain.
The invention is particularly applicable to pneumatic cleaners of the type described in the following patents: German Patent No. 3,503,755; Swiss Patent No. 664,583; U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,318; and Italian Patent No. and 1,049,613. Reference may be had to these patents for the details of the pneumatic cleaning device to which the present invention is particularly applicable.
Generally, the prior art power chains were supported in the superstructure by shallow troughs extending along the length of the path of movement of the carriage. If the chains are 50 meters in length, they provide a path of approximately 100 meters. In practice, it has been found that after a period of time, wear in the chain causes the chain to slip out of the trough and fall into the underlying apparatus, requiring a shutdown and repositioning of the chain.